Multiple coalition countries training Iraqi forces

SOUTHWEST ASIA – Building partner capacity teams at the Kurdish
Training Coordination Center, part of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent
Resolve’s multinational coalition, are overseeing the sixth iteration of a
training course for Peshmerga soldiers in several locations near Erbil, Iraq.

The 18-day course prepares the soldiers for their fight
against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, and supports the effort to
re-establish Iraqi sovereignty. The training reinforces skills, including basic
rifle marksmanship, first aid, urban combat and counter-IED techniques. The
goal is to develop both individual soldiers and enhance the capabilities of
collective units.

The KTCC coordinated the training program with the Ministry
of Peshmerga. Two battalions of Peshmerga soldiers are participating in the
current course, which began July 26.

Coalition troops from Italy, the United Kingdom,
the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Finland have trained approximately 2,500
Peshmerga soldiers at the KTCC since January 2015. The KTCC is part of Combined Joint Force Land
Component Command - Iraq, which has trained more than 11,000 Iraqi security
force personnel since January 2015.